CARTOON BUILDER

Blender not only generates realistic single frames; it is also capable of capturing the natural movements of people and animals. We’ll introduce you to some of Blender’s animation features.

Character animation – the art of bringing virtual characters to life – is the computerized counterpart to the hand-drawn cartoon. Replacing the drawing board with the computer does not really change the craft. Computer-generated animations still benefit from a realistic look and feel. Blender is capable of producing photorealistic images, and Blender offers some benefits that conventional cartoonists will never enjoy. For instance, objects in a Blender scene “interact” autonomously, and Blender correctly calculates the highlights and shadows when 3D objects change their positions (Figure 1). Last month we showed you how to create a 3D image in Blender. This month, we’ll show you how to put an image in motion using Blender’s animation tools.

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF

Price $2.95(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

Related content

Although Walt Disney’s masterpieces are not forgotten, legacy cartoon techniques are a thing of the past. As long ago as 1995, the movie “Toy Story” proved that computers are more than up to the task of animating pictures. We’ll help you get started with building your own animations.

Free software enjoys an excellent reputation in the field of 3D graphics. In addition to Blender, other projects stand out: MakeHuman creates realistic 3D humans, and Art of Illusion – with its intuitive interface – lets users enter the world of animated movies.

Several free game engines are available for Linux users, but programming with them is often less than intuitive. Panda3D is an easy-to-use engine that is accessible enough for newcomers but still powerful enough for the pros at Disney Studios.